The New Westminster New Media Gallery just got a boost for its efforts to introduce local children to the world of arts and technology.
The gallery and its Learning Lab just received a $10,000 donation from Amazon to help fund STEAM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) for local schoolchildren. The donation will be used to make gallery and Learning Lab programming more accessible and affordable to those who would otherwise be unable to attend.
“Amazon’s donation will enable more young people to access and learn next-gen skills through hands-on activities,” said Gordon Duggan, one-half of the director-curator team at the New Media Gallery, in a press release. “By equipping students with critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills, our students of today will be the innovators of tomorrow.”
Director-curator Sarah Joyce noted in an email that the impact of the gallery’s arts and technology programming was illustrated in the recent New Media Gallery Mayor’s Challenge Race, held as part of the youth festival during the city’s Innovation Week earlier in March. Teams created and controlled mini-racers using Little Bits technology.
“A team of little girls won,” she wrote - the team in question having dubbed themselves the Charging Cheetahs. “They were up against the seasoned mayor’s team, led by (city councillor) Patrick Johnstone, as well as a number of older kids. A few of these little girls had taken NMG arts and technology workshops and were familiar with using technology. We were thrilled to have them win.”
The success of that race dovetails with Amazon’s aim to expand educational opportunities from kindergarten to post-secondary, with a special focus on making STEAM education accessible to young girls, underrepresented minorities, and those in under-served and low-income communities.
The most recent $10,000 donation builds on a $15,000 endowment that Amazon made last March to support high school students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics at New Westminster Secondary School.
“At Amazon, technology and innovation fuel our business, and we recognize that the jobs of tomorrow require a stronger aptitude for STEAM skills,” said Carla Nash, general manager at Amazon. “That’s why we’re proud to be a member of the New Westminster community and to support local STEAM education programs that empower young people to build, imagine and innovate.”
